Both managers played down the significance of last night’s game, saying beforehand that they did not make that connection until reporters told them.

“We’ve forgotten all about it — it was so long ago — until somebody brought it up,” Toronto Manager John Gibbons said. “That’s all I got to say.”

The last time they met, the Yankees were leading by two runs with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. With Rodriguez on first base and Hideki Matsui on second, Jorge Posada hit a pop-up. Blue Jays third baseman Howie Clark camped under the ball.

As Rodriguez passed Clark, he shouted something. Clark thought shortstop John McDonald was calling for the ball so he stepped away.

Rodriguez later said he shouted, “Ha!” Clark said he heard, “Mine!”

The ball fell to the ground as Matsui scored and Rodriguez reached third. It was ruled a run-scoring single, and the Yankees went on to score two more runs and win, 10-5.

Rodriguez seemed pleased with himself, smirking as he stood on third, but the Blue Jays were incensed.

After the game, Yankees Manager Joe Torre defended Rodriguez, albeit in a lukewarm manner. Two days later, when the Yankees were in Boston to play the Red Sox, he reconsidered, saying: “It’s probably something he shouldn’t have done.”

Some in the Yankees organization were not pleased with Torre’s criticism of Rodriguez, who can opt out of his contract after this season.

Clark and McDonald, neither of whom started last night, said they had no lingering animosity. Clark is a backup, but McDonald has been splitting time with Royce Clayton.

McDonald, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning, earlier in the day defended his initial anger. “I wouldn’t have gotten a little bit upset about the situation if I had thought that it was right,” he said. “But that’s my opinion. It doesn’t have to be everyone else’s opinion.”

Clark noted that even if he had caught the ball, the Blue Jays would have had to score two runs against Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score. They did not score any.

“I was frustrated because you feel like you’d let the team down,” Clark said before the game.

With tempers seemingly in check, Major League Baseball did not appear concerned about the Yankees and the Blue Jays meeting again.

“The umpires, before they go into a series, are made aware of any sort of history that goes on between two teams,” Pat Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, said yesterday. “I’m not sure if they’re specifically going to give them a warning before the series starts.”

Payback may still come. Delayed reactions are not uncommon in baseball.

In the bottom of the first inning against Josh Towers, with runners on first and second, Rodriguez grounded into an inning-ending double play. Two innings later, he hit the home run to right field off Towers to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. In the sixth, Towers induced a soft groundout.

Brandon League, a right-handed reliever, struck out Rodriguez on three pitches in the seventh.

The game’s most amusing play occurred in the top of the eighth inning when, with two outs, Vernon Wells popped up to the left side of the mound. It was anything but routine as Rodriguez trotted toward the infield grass. On the replay, it appeared as if he shouted, “I got it!”